Moorhead, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus baseball team suffered a sweep at the hands of Concordia College on Tuesday afternoon at the Jake Christiansen Athletic Complex. After edging the Gusties 3-2 in the opener, Concordia cruised to a 10-0 win in game two. Gustavus has dropped 10 straight MIAC games and is now 6-19 overall and 2-14 in the MIAC. Concordia improves to 15-12 overall and 7-7 in the MIAC with the wins.
Game One Recap
Following a scoreless first inning, Gustavus grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Josh Chatfield (Fr., Apple Valley, Minn.) led the inning off with a walk, stole second base, and then advanced to third on fly ball hit by Sam Warner (So., Chanhassen, Minn.). With one out, Joe Melles (So., Hopkins, Minn.) delivered an RBI single to center to put the Gusties on top.
Gustavus added to its lead in the third inning and held a 2-0 advantage after two and a half innings. Danny Carlson (Fr., Plymouth, Minn.) and Max Fidler (Jr., Lino Lakes, Minn.) set the table with singles, and Garrett Fuchs (Jr., Cold Spring, Minn.) came through with a one-run double to right field, which scored Carlson.
Concordia answered with a pair of runs to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom half of the third inning. Phil Kuball recorded the two-run single to right field that knotted the game.
An inning and a half passed before Concordia was able to bring across the game-winning run in the fifth. Zach Hinkemeyer reached first base on an error by Carlson at short and was scarified to second base on a bunt by Kyle Kraemer. With Hinkemeyer on second, Kuball once again came up with a big hit to bring home the eventual game-winner.
Gustavus recorded just one hit over its final four at-bats of the game. The Gusties finished with six hits compared to Concordia’s seven.
Grant Soderberg (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) suffered the loss and is now 1-2 on the year. He allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits with three strikeouts in four and two-thirds innings. Michael Strelow (Jr., Braham, Minn.) took his place and went one and one-third innings, shutting the Cobbers out without allowing a hit.
Ross Merriman earned the complete-game victory, allowing two runs on six hits with three Ks.
Game Two Recap
Gustavus failed to get its offense back on track in game two. The Gusties registered just two hits, which came from Chatfield in the fourth inning and Scott Benjamin (Sr., Northfield, Minn.) in the sixth.
The Cobbers fired out the gates, grabbing a 5-0 lead after scoring four runs on four hits in the first and one run on two hits in the second. Concordia added a run in both the fifth and sixth innings, and then earned the 10-run rule after scoring three runs in the seventh. The home team outhit Gustavus 14-2 in the game.
Sam Carlson (Fr., St. James, Minn.) suffered the loss (2-3) after giving up six runs (two earned) on nine hits in five innings. Dan Venn (Sr., Cannon Falls, Minn.) allowed four runs on four hits over the sixth and seventh innings before being replaced by Steven Zehms (Jr., Sherburn, Minn.).
Kyle Connelly pitched the two-hit, complete-game shutout for the Cobbers.
The Gustavus baseball team will now face St. Olaf in a non-conference doubleheader on Thursday, April 24 at the Gustie Baseball Field. First pitch of game one is set for 2:30 p.m.